Two o'clock in the morning.
FBI conference room.
Jodie sits on the corner of the conference table, arms folded, watching the chatter on the projector.
She inquired coldly, "Thoughts."
Two in the morning is a horrible time.
Being pulled up for a surprise meeting at 2:00 a.m. is a scary event, scarier than a horror movie because it actually happened.
But for Jodie, it wasn't so scary.
She's been working a lot of overtime lately, sometimes even getting off work at 4:00 and getting up at 7:00 to follow public opinion.
She was used to it, and named names, not gritting her teeth, but very lightly, "Mr. Akai first."
And for good reason, "You left work at 5:00, and now it's 2:00, so if nothing else, you've been off for nine hours."
"Even if you're called up in the middle of the night, you'll be awake in no time, right?"
Akai Shūichi, who had actually only gotten off work at five o'clock for a while, and was waiting for a rabbit, and had stayed up late and worked overtime for a long time since then: "..."
Because of something, he actually didn't give his full attention to the text message that came out of the cast screen, but was thinking about 'Messiah'.
But in the face of Jodie's sudden naming, he paused for a moment, but still said, "Perhaps, you can answer '123'."
Ichijō Mirai gave three choices, but didn't say whether they were single or multiple choice.
The choice that was finally chosen, although it was a decision that was made after countless people had discussed it, was, on the surface, Jodie.
Ichijō Mirai is being patient with Jodie.
Beasts are especially patient in the lurking stage of hunting and watching their prey fall into traps.
Akai Shūichi was able to tell that while he and Ichijō Mirai had been meeting and fighting for some time, Jodie and Ichijō Mirai were still in the attacking range of the other, grazing slowly, and had not yet reached the most suitable place to be attacked.
Besides, "I'm here."
His expression was calm, "He'll be very tolerant of you."
To be precise: not 'will be tolerant of Jodie', but 'won't give Jodie a hard time'.
Ichijō Mirai wouldn't press Jodie too hard to test her potential, wouldn't jump at the chance to test the FBI agent's resilience, wouldn't try to get a hold of her 100%.
Because of Akai Shūichi.
Having fully expressed her ability to be an equal match for the Beast, Akai Shūichi's presence would keep the Beast's attention, preventing him from devoting too much energy to another prey.
Jodie: "..."
She glances suspiciously at Akai Shūichi for a few moments, meeting those dark green eyes, "Really?"
"...But I thought his 'official spokesperson' would be you, why did he suddenly come to me?"
"Isn't he happy with you?"
In the cooperation between criminals and the FBI, there is always a counter-officer within the FBI, who is responsible for conveying the criminal's ideas, and in the process of doing so, also utilizes linguistic techniques to gain certain benefits for both the criminal and the FBI.
Such a liaison officer is a specific official spokesperson or partner of the criminal, and there is generally only one.
Assuming Ichijō Mirai wasn't trying to double-cross the FBI, it was after checking out Akai Shūichi and being dissatisfied that he went back to Jodie.
Akai Shūichi: "..."
He briefly recalled the events of the car accident, paused for a few seconds, and then said, "He'll probably keep looking for you for the next while."
Part of it was to check out a future coworker.
Partly to pressure Akai Shūichi into backing down, with the intention of seizing more advantage and initiative in the upcoming deal.
"Will you come back to me?" Jodie was keenly aware of the point. "At 1:00 a.m.?"
Was she going to have to work overtime every day for the rest of her life?!
Akai Shūichi paused again for a few seconds, and blandly said, "You could make a suggestion to him about your working hours,"
"Maybe, he'll agree with you."
He'd already said 'maybe' twice.
Jodie looked at him, her eyes narrowed a little, and suddenly said, "When you just saw these text messages, you seemed to be a little lost in thought, what are you thinking about?"
Thinking about Messiah.
Thinking about the investigation that he had asked non-FBI, MI6 agents to go to Tokyo and conduct as quietly as possible behind the backs of other forces, and thinking about the results of the investigation that might be coming.
The fact that the FBI didn't find anything related to 'Messiah' is a bit suspicious.
Considering that 'Satan' has bloodied the FBI three times, it's even more suspicious, and one wonders if the FBI is being specifically targeted.
Akai Shūichi, who had been in direct contact with Ichijō Mirai and knew the direction of the investigation, tried to avoid the FBI and use other channels that hadn't been targeted by 'Satan', at least on the surface.
And almost 80% sure, sure can investigate what.
This is something that can't be said directly without going through the FBI.
Akai Shūichi didn't change his face, "I was thinking that he really came to you, it's a bit unexpected, it seems that he's not satisfied with me."
"I guess I pushed too hard."
The fact that Ichijō Mirai turned to Jodie and invisibly pressed and pushed Akai Shūichi meant one thing: he thought Akai Shūichi was good, so good that he was his equal, so good that he wasn't just prey, but could become a predator if he wasn't careful.
He added, "I've met him, and I know him a little bit. But not well enough for you to reply otherwise."
Jodie looked at him again, and at the others in the room.
She spun her cell phone a few times, "OK."
Then she replies, [123].
And again: [Next time, can you message me during business hours?]
The projection screen showed the two outgoing messages, and soon after, they reappeared in a crisp new message alert:
[All of them?]
[You're spoiled.]
[But I agree.]
A new message pops up: [I thought whatever time I showed up was your work time?]
Jodie: "..."
Yes.
Anytime, anywhere, if Ichijō Mirai deliberately makes some noise, Jodie has to go to work immediately.
Like 1:00 a.m. on her day off.
[I'm just kidding. Don't get mad. :D]
[The next time I look for you, I'll look for you during day time.]
[Well... as long as you don't bellyache some nonsense about wanting me to be purified by the sun.]
[:)]
It's the ghosts that will be cleansed by the sun.
Jodie looked at the messages and realized that this guy was actually quite friendly, like he was talking to a friend, careless and light-hearted.
Some of them were mind-reading, not persecuting, but very skilled in the psychology of the persecuted.
And: "He answered in seconds."
She's a bit thoughtful, "At about 2:00 in the morning."
Criminals are a 24-hour profession.
Akai Shūichi's cell phone vibrated noiselessly in the midst of the continuous message alerts, attracting no one's attention.
Without moving his eyes, he lowered them to see a message from Tokyo at 4:00 p.m.: [I found traces of 'Messiah' in Tokyo.]
The message was from an MI6 agent.
Ten seconds after the message is opened, it disappears and a new message comes in.
[...But it seems to be the wrong person, I think it's a duplicate name...]
[The person you're looking for, 'Messiah', is a very famous person, but he's dead.]